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It wasn’t easy. This whole thing started because I wanted to be a singer, but I couldn’t sing. So I’d write songs and have friends sing them and then after that I met a few music producers and we collaborated on a few songs for a female country singer. From there, i just tried to network and network and network. Eventually landing bigger contracts and bigger artists. It took maybe 2 years for me to land a song on national radio, 4 years to notably chart etc. It’s just networking and pushing and marketing. 90 percent of anything music related is business, the other 10 percent is talent. I’m not the best writer but I made it happen anyway. You just have to want it more than anybody else. (God, i suck at explaining)

I gave a two year old kid the Heimlich maneuver about fifteen years ago. Not sure if he would have died or not had I not been there (it was just me and his mom) but it feels good knowing I used the training I had to try to help save a life.

Fast forward to today and I actually still know the kid and his mom (married to a friend of mine). Whenever I'm around them I never bring it up or anything but it definitely gets brought up by them (either him or mom), usually in a kind of joking matter, but I can tell they both are very appreciative and grateful. The kid has turned out to be a very well adjusted teenager. Proud of him more than of myself.

On the same vein, here I was getting a pap test when the RN got all "OMG, you have such a pretty little cervix - just like in the textbooks!!!" and was genuinely excited. I'm just there like... cool, can you get this over with though, no one likes a speculum shoved up their vagina.

Too funny. That reminds me of the time my wife went for a colonoscopy a few years back and the tech told her she had the cleanest colon she'd ever seen. Still brags about it to this day like it's an accomplishment. Which, I mean... I guess it kind of is?

It's just not something that comes up in normal conversation. Also, people tend to make a big deal of it, saying how I'm such a great person and all that. I absolutely hate that kind of shit, so I don't bring it up.

My brother had really bad epilepsy when we were younger and I was there during his first seizure (and freaked out, I was no help in that situation) but I researched everything I could in case it happened again. The next night I woke up to him having a seizure and woke up my mother and we both took the precautions necessary. Over time he had multiple bad seizures. A couple memorable ones were:
-Me in my room laying in bed listening to music and I think I hear him call my name and I get super anxious all of a sudden. So I ran in and saw him on the floor having a seizure and I turn him over and clear the area and try to soothe him.
-Another time was when my dad was overseas and my mother was out with friends and I was upstairs. My brother was downstairs making food and suddenly I get worried about the silence. I call down to him and he doesnt respond so I ran down the stairs no hesitation to see him dragging our fridge and its just about to topple on top of him but I ran in and slammed it against the wall and had to pry him off because he had seized up completely. I put him on the floor and held his hand and talked him through it. He told me he could hear me the whole time and cried for the rest of the night.
-There are a couple other times but these were the most memorable.

Holy moly the fridge one. We've got a family friend with epilepsy. Banged a hole in the wall when she hit it with her head. She's had a few nasty falls, different sort of seizures than the ones your brother had, I think.

I overcame an addiction to pain killers and thats something I cant normally talk about, especially since Im a millenial and a ton of my college aged friends pop pills on the weekend like its a joke. Only my closest friends know about my addiction.

The painkillers people refer to (oxycodone, hydrocodone etc) are usually opiates (just like heroin). They are euphoric and make you feel happy/relaxed/warm, as well as relieving any pain. They take all your troubles away.

Opiates are so dangerous because the high doesn't seem to have any violent side effects like many other drugs. They just make you feel really, really good. So the habit creeps up on you and then you get to a point where you can't stop because you want to avoid withdrawals. Before you know it, you're an addict.

If you're in pain one thing that eats at you is the worry that this is going to go on and on and not get better. The "Everything is going to be OK" takes that fear away. So the pain is lessened, AND the worry, and you are able to sleep at night.

For me, the painkillers have helped me through several surgeries. But I completely understand why middle-aged Americans - not just kids - are getting hooked.

If you're in a troubled relationship, in debt, stressed out by your job, your kids, the mortgage, WHATEVER- all that fear and anxiety ALSO GOES AWAY. When the time comes to go off the painkillers and all that anxiety comes back- it's like discovering you were carrying this huge load on your back you never knew was there. You were allowed to put it down for a while, and now you have to pick it all back up again forever? When this little pill can make that all go away?

I think this is probably the least understood or acknowledged part of the opiate issue- it isn't just the high- it's that total relief from anxiety of any kind.

I hate both, because my wife has a legitimate need for a specific painkiller, and she's having to ration her remaining supply because her doctors are all in a game of "pass the buck" for who should actually renew her existing prescription of multiple years.

If we could solve the opiate problem, without creating stupid reactionary problems for people that do need drugs at politically inconvenient times, that would be great. And I do really feel like honest conversations about how these drugs operate, is the best path to that outcome.

I went to great lengths to get someone a job. They wound up being incredibly successful and making a LOT of money quickly. This person would never have found this company or position of I hadn't recommended it and guided them through the interview process. I can't talk about it much now because I don't want to take away from the person's success. I am happy for them and they have acknowledged my influence, but it seems petty for me to bring it up even though my involvement was a key piece of the success puzzle.

I started brushing my teeth. I've been so demotivated with how horrible my life has been lately that even doing that every night is a challenge. But I'm doing it and have been for a few months now

Edit: Wow, imagine my surprise getting on the bus this morning and seeing 29 new notifications! Thank you all for your support! It means the world to me! I couldn't help but smile as I read it. Thank you all :)

That im losing weight. Im really proud of it but I know it's really annoying when people brag about it.

Edit: wow, there's lot of support coming from you guys. Thanks! And to everyone also losing weight: if you ever feel that you're going nowhere, dont lose hope! It may not seem like its going anywhere, but soon it will be worth it. :)

There have actually been studies done that show it's better not to tell people, because your brain gets the same sort of high from telling people as actually doing it. And that, in turn, can lessen your motivation because you're already getting a feeling of accomplishment.

In my opinion, I think it's even more important to stress that with something like weight loss because it's very easy to get discouraged by comparing yourself to others or even mistakenly believing you're doing it for someone else's approval. It's important to remember the most important person you're doing it for is you. And, hey, one of the great things about weight loss is the results speak for themselves. You don't have to brag about it because people will know. Good luck on your progress!

I'm the only one in my immediate family that hasn't been addicted to drugs. I'm also the only one who hasn't done crack or meth. My dad, step dad, mom, half brother and half sister have all spent significant times as drug addicts with some spending years addicted. I also believe i am also 1 of 3 out of that bunch that haven't prostituted myself for money.

I did my entire thesis in 24 hours. Got an A. Can't ever talk about it because I got hired on the basis of that thesis and if they ever found just how half assed it was I'd be fired before I knew what was happening. Oh well.

Sure you'd get fired though? How long have you been working there? Surely there are now more reasons to keep you around than your thesis?

I say though, the teachers grading your thesis must be quite crap at this whole thesis thing. Or your just really good at it. I work as a researcher and we have had students doing their thesis from our organisation (I got hired on the basis of a thesis aswell) and I'm currently helping a student on completing her thesis. But everyone with half an idea of what doing research is about should be able to discern a half assed attempt from a well executed thesis.

My entire college was essentially the night before stuff. I work well under pressure. Been with the firm a year, but it's a law firm and pretty sure they fire everyone who lies about anything of their past.

I've lost 50 lbs over the course of 3 years and have kept it off. I'm really proud of myself, but no one believes how I lost it, so I normally don't bring it up. I just started walking and eating more vegetables, and drinking more water and logging my calories. I don't deny myself anything, and I like to have a three course dinner on most days and maybe that includes wine or cocktail when the notion takes me. (I figure if it's under the calorie count for wait loss or maintenance I'm fine) The doctor said to do little things, and they would add up and they did. He's been great through all of this. I guess I want someone to say good job. But since it didn't involve mortification of some sort, I find folks find it really upsetting.

What? You didn't just take a pill and do a cleanse and sweat it out and take the latest supplement Dr. Oz recommended!? The thing is, what you did took a lot of hard work and discipline. You didn't just go on a diet. You changed your lifestyle. A lot of people just want a quick fix. They want that miracle that has them lose 10 lbs in 3 days. Or they just half-ass it and convince themselves what you did doesn't work because it didn't when they sorta-kinda ate some vegetables for a few weeks, so there must be something you're keeping from them. The people that get upset aren't upset with you; they're upset because your result and how you accomplished it is a threatening reminder of their lack of being able to do the same. This is something that often accompanies success.

When I was 12, we decided to put down my childhood dog (he was 16 and had been in the family before me). We go to the office, Mom says we should go. I see my furry brother standing there, scared and confused, and I told her no. I told her I was going in with my dog, and she would just have to wait for me if she and my father didn't come with. I marched past them with the vet tech and held my dog in my arms until he was gone.

My mom told me years later that she knew I would be a good person from that day on, and was surprised that I had the strength of character to stand up to both of them and be there for a creature in their last living moment without the slightest hesitation, even as a child.

That I left my abusive husband after two months of marriage, during the night of Christmas when I sneaked out. It was the hardest thing giving up on my marriage and not spending Christmas with family. But I knew he didn’t deserve to be called my family.

I didn't drink last night. Or the night before. I think my longest time going without alcohol in the last 5 years is about 6 days. Every night I dont drink is a success. I can't really talk about it though. Likewise with smoking - I guess I have an addictive personality, really have to stay away from anything addictive that could do proper damage

Edit: whoa went to sleep and this thread really blew up! Thank you everyone for their kind words and advice. There are quite a few comments that scared the hell out of me too, so maybe they could also be the eye opener I need. And thank you to whoever gave me gold, I never had gold before so I must find out what it does! I will try and read through everyone's responses and reply to as many as I can

I’m not sure if this will help you, but it helped me. Get a label maker (not a post-it note!) and write the date of your last drink. Stick it above the CD player in your car. I want you to play a game with yourself to see how long you can go. When people ask you about it, be honest and tell them exactly what it is. This is so you can hold yourself accountable. The point is that you don’t want to embarrass yourself by slipping up and having to explain why the sticker is gone. I know a lot of people are going to give me reasons why this is a bad idea, but it honestly worked for me when I quit smoking. It’s been 130+ days so far. You very may well fuck up. But as soon as you do you need to forgive yourself and go right back at it. It took me 4 honest tries before I got a decent rhythm going. As an EMT, I see a lot of the long term effects of smoking and/or drinking daily. Even those who don’t fuck up their professional life or get cancer often end up with undesired effects (CHF, COPD, liver or kidney disease, etc...). It may not shorten your life but it sure as hell screws up the quality. Personally, I honestly don’t care if I live until 90 and that was often the excuse I gave myself for not quitting, but the more I saw 60/70 y/o’s living uncomfortably, the more I wanted to stop. You got this.

Please don't give up. I watched my baby sister go through that for 12 years and now she is clean for 2. So glad to have her back. You can do this too! There is a whole great story ahead of you and this is your beginning!

I am just past intermediate-level skill at pole fitness/pole dance -- the kind you see in cirque du soleil, not the erotic dancing/stripping kind. It was part of how I dragged myself out of depression, and kick-started getting myself into better shape. It took about three years of practice to get to where I'm at. But I don't feel like I can talk about it with family/most friends, because the automatic reaction is, "Oh, you're a stripper then."

I had a conversation with a friend once who was really down and I cheered them up as I would anyone, later they told me they had a load of pills they was going to take that night and my conversation stopped her from committing suicide.

EDIT: was not expecting this kind of response or reddit gold for this, the kind messages are very appreciated thank you so much everybody, crazy that I kept this to myself for 5 years until today.

Thank you my friend I appreciate the comment although I didn’t even realise I was to talk her out of doing such a thing.

I’m a guy and sad thing is we don’t even talk anymore because she got a boyfriend who’s pretty jealous of her talking to other boys so yeah no one else actually knew about that night as I didn’t tell any of our friends.

I was the person with the pills about to take them a few years ago :(
Out of no where a guy i know (who i had only met once or twice) who is married started chatting to me on Facebook and made me laugh. Let’s call him John.
I didn’t go through with it.

It sended me down a dark tunnel of being completely reliant on this one guy. I started to fall in love with john. He started having feelings too. One day he sat down with me and said “in another life i would have loved to love you more than a friend and i think i am starting to love you more than a friend which is why i need to keep it as just friends because i also love my wife. But i will always be here for you.” It broke my heart. I respect marriage and never intended on breaking them up but he was my whole world and it hurt to know I couldn’t be his whole world. Of course he would always love her just a little more than me.

It took me a few years of tears and denial and heartache and (sadly) genuine hate for his wife to get over him. Through it all he remained a loyal friend and supported me.

Now, i found my husband, Ben, who i adore and we have a baby on the way! I have a healthy relationship with John and his wife and I actually became friends. I will forever be grateful to John for saving my life that day but even more grateful that he never judged me for getting my feelings confused. It was an important lesson for a young woman to learn- the difference between real love and respect or just admiration and dependence.

Sorry for the essay, ive never been able to tell anyone this out of shame for trying to commit suicide in the first place and then falling in love with the married man who was kind enough to talk me out of it. He ended up being best man at our wedding and now the Godparent of my future child :)

If you never did another single thing from this point forward, (aka you died right now), you can rest assured you improved the world for not only her, but every friend, family member, and even acquaintance of the person without them knowing it. Suicide hurts more than just the person who dies.

One time I really had to go and so I ran behind a rock and shat out a pretty big shit as soon as my pants were down. Then I felt another rumbling and an even bigger shit covered the entire previous shit. All of this happened on top of a shit that somebody else previously took behind that very same rock.

When I came out and rejoined the rest of the expedition, our guide said a little prayer in Nepali under his breath

At the time I blamed the Emergen-c Vitamin-C booster packets I mixed with water and drank throughout the day. The day of the giant shit I drank it all in one go in the morning for the first time, instead of spreading it out over the whole day. It's the only thing I can think of, I didn't have shits like that any other day

Honestly, when people do find out, I get questioned a lot how I could give up a baby that I gave birth to. The answer is quite simple for me, the baby was biologically the other couple's baby. It wasn't mine, I was just the oven that baked the bun 😀😀😀!!!

hey me too! I was bulimic for 10 years and I got over it all by myself. Sadly I never told anyone. Well only one person knew about it but I feel like if I tell people they will see me as more flawed than I already am. Also I don't want people to be watching me as I eat or use the washroom.

This might sound weird but...I’m really proud of my performance as a dad right now.

My life is just nuts currently. I went back to school in my mid-20’s and I’m in my last semester (civil engineering). Due to my school being sucky at scheduling I’m having to take 18 hours, all technical classes, plus study for the state licensing exam, plus work at an internship. Add in that my wife and I have several friends struggling with varying degrees of depression that need constant support, and our house is super old and falling apart so I’m constantly having to fix things.

I feel constantly overwhelmed, but somehow I’m getting through it and I still manage to be there consistently for my 2 year old.

Honestly sometimes I feel like I deserve a medal, but I hate people who play the “see how hard my life is!” game, so I don’t bring it up. The joy I get when I come home and my son starts screaming “dada! Dada! And dragging me around the house to play with him is enough reward.

My dentist and orthodontist have both commented on the fact that I salivate a lot. There's nothing to be proud of but I still am. Accidentally drooling on the table/plate has happened before. I'm some sort of caveman in that aspect I guess.

I turned in the man who molested me and got him arrested, preventing him from hurting any other children. I was a teenager, and he was my private tutor. He had many other students of all ages; some were tiny little kids. I told my mom about a day after it happened, because I was scared and had been groomed for months leading up to this, and at first convinced myself that I should keep quiet for a number of reasons. But I couldn't get it out of my head and I kept thinking about all those little kids he tutored, and what if I wasn't the only one he touched? So I finally spoke up about it. He later ended up confessing to the police and was arrested.

This is on a more serious note, but I haven’t cut myself in over a month. I used to do it every day. I am so very proud of myself for finding healthy coping mechanisms, I’m a work in progress. But at least I’m working.

This! I cut myself for over a decade! It became so addictive, and I did it for so many varied reasons, it really was a difficult habit to break! But I definitely felt like it was/is not something I can talk about with anyone. For the friends I had who did cut, it was only in middle school, and they talked about it like it was just some melodramatic adolescent cry for attention, so the fact that I continued to do it through college was always a huge embarrassment to me. So it was never something that I could talk about while doing, or after I quit.

It’s been about 8 years now, and when I first stopped I thought about it constantly for a long time. Eventually I started thinking about it less and less, and nowadays, while the thought does still cross my mind during times of extreme emotion, those thoughts are rare and fleeting.

So congratulations, you should be proud of yourself! And hang in there!!

I deal with crippling chronic pain with depression tagging alongside it. I'm very good at hiding how much pain I'm in, but I really spend almost all day every day internally screaming and crying as I try to keep my composure to walk down a freaking hallway... I'm pretty proud of myself for still being around.

Edit: There have been quite a few comments from fellow individuals with chronic pain. I want you to know that you are not alone. I believe in you! If you are looking for a way to meet other people with chronic pain without having to leave the house, The Pain Community is an awesome resource that I found. There are weekly group chats and phone calls, whichever one you prefer. I hope this helps some of you :)
https://paincommunity.org/

Edit 2: Thank you so much for the gold!! It makes me feel like people are becoming more aware of the challenges of chronic pain, and can help one another find healthy treatments/ coping mechanisms. ♡

Edit 3: Thank you second kind redditor for the gold!! I hope that some of the information I have provided will help you, or your loved ones, find a little bit of happiness in the frustrating battle that is chronic pain. ♡

Edit 4: For those of you who are looking for another option, I recently found that there is a subreddit for chronic pain! /r/chronicpain

And my biggest pro-tip to those with chronic pain reading this... name that shit. Early on in my life with chronic pain, I named it Carl. Hands down the best decision I've made. I can bitch him out, those close to me understand that if I say Carl is angry, I'm having a really bad pain day, and it's just a fun spin on it. I celebrate our anniversary as a way to stay positive (in a dark way lol)... but be aware that new people often think it is your abusive significant other haha.

Edit: Be aware that whatever you do name your pain will have impacts on people with the same name lol. *Carl will always be an asshole... sorry if your name is also Carl

I'm proud of the fact I quit smoking cigarettes, but so many people I know still smoke it's something I can't really talk about too much. You end up feeling like a preachy asshole anytime you say anything about how it feels to give up cigarettes when you know for a fact how difficult it is.

One time I was having sex with my girlfriend, missionary style, and when I pulled out to cum it shot out and landed perfectly in her open mouth. Such precision is an achievement, albeit not one that you can bring up at family or work engagements.

Was riding my bicycle to meet a mate for brunch and a woman suddenly started freaking out yelling, "Oh my god! Somebody had to help her!" Looked to the other side of the street and in the park saw a guy beating a woman up. Biked over and (with the help of another 2 strangers) took him down and restrained him until police arrived.

Still makes me smile to think that I've done something good in my life.

Leaving a friendship that didn't benefit my life. She wasn't exactly toxic, but feeling like a babysitter rather than a friend was getting really old. I'm really proud of myself for making that call and doing it in a respectful way. I feel like it was a defining point towards adulthood for me.

I've been going to the gym for the sole purpose of not being a skinny bitch anymore and every time someone (occasionally) compliments that I look bigger or more muscular, I freak out on the inside with happiness. :)

I'm proud of quitting smoking weed. Haven't smoked in a little over 2 months now, but since everyone around me still smokes I don't really talk about it because I don't want to be preachy, even though it's made a huge difference.

Man walks into a bar and orders a dozen shots. He rips them down. The bartender asks why he needed twelve shots. Guy says, “I just had my first blowjob!” The bartender laughs and says, “Well here, have another shot on the house!” The man shakes his head and says “No thanks, if 12 didn’t get the taste out nothing will!”

Someone I know thought he had an undiscovered std. But in reality, he blacked out, passed out, and his roommate put a stick of butter down his pants. The butter melted overnight, so he woke up to this weird goo around his crotch. Maybe you have that?

Sometimes a jam comes on when I'm with my friends but I can't sing along because they'll make fun of me. I proudly know all the lyrics to Katy Perry and Taylor Swift songs but i'll be crucified if I sing. :(

I am a straight man with an ex wife and three kids I love 80s hair bands 90s country 70s rock I also love late 90s early 2000 teeny bopper music Hilary Duff Britney Spears Christina Aguilera Joanna Levesque even Ashlee Simpson. I will openly sing along to any of those and I do not care who is in the car.

I (a young man) am really proud of myself on the days that I don't overeat - I have a nice body (according to those that have seen it), but I'm very self conscious about my belly and chin fat. I can't normally talk about these things because my family is all more overweight than I am, and it puts them down when I say that I feel really good about my body that day.